Summary and Info

For several years now, Adam Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) has been attracting increasing attention. Smith is concerned not only with the question of rational grounds for moral action, but also and above all with moral feelings and a corresponding moral education. Thus his theory offers a promising alternative to the theories of David Hume and Immanuel Kant, which have often been cited in past debates. Working from the moral philosophy of Adam Smith, who is known principally as a political economist, it is possible to develop a many-facetted contribution to present-day debates (liberalism, business ethics). This volume, with papers by renowned moral philosophers and Adam Smith scholars, documents the various perspectives from which Adam Smith's moral philosophy is of particular interest today.